The All Natural Pharmacist

chocolate

The earliest known use of chocolate was in the form of the cacao bean (more commonly known as the cocoa bean) in the Amazon, back in 2,000 BC. That’s more than 4,000 years ago.

One of the biggest claims to fame of cocoa is its antioxidant properties. Thanks to its high concentration of flavonoids, which are compounds found in thousands of plant-based foods, chocolate has a rather impressive ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) score.

Those higher levels of flavonoids also provide positive effects for heart health!

But before you go on a chocolate binge… these effects were shown with dark and dark chocolate only. This is key…dark chocolate. And milk chocolate is not an option either.

Not only does milk chocolate contain significantly less cocoa, it also tends to be higher in fat, sugar, and calories. Plus, there is evidence to suggest that milk binds to flavanols and interferes with their absorption.11 Whether one eats a candy bar with milk as an ingredient, adds milk to cocoa, or drinks it to wash down a brownie, the milk basically blocks the flavanols from performing their functions.

So… choose your chocolate well. your best bet is to use unsweetened cocoa powder. That way you avoid the sugar/fat trap while still reaping all the benefits. For chocolate bars chose the 70% cocoa content with less than 10 grams of sugar.

Finally, you might want to stir up this yummy truffle recipe:

Put raw coconut oil in a double boiler. Heat the water, melt the oil, and take remove it from the stove. Mix in raw cacao powder, along with almond butter, coconut flakes, and chili powder and/or cinnamon. Stevia can be used to sweeten it.

The best part of this recipe is that you can determine the measurements and proportions. Just add and stir ingredients until the mixture is nice and creamy. Then refrigerate the mixture until it is cool, roll into truffle-like balls, and freeze them.

You can thank me later😊

FYI: If you happen to live in the Santa Rosa Beach, Fl area my friend, Shyron makes chocolate to die for! Check our her site- https://www.vip-vibe.com/